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CHAPTER IV.

Our  major  paid  a  morning  visit  to  the  pretty  widow  to  take  leave,  and  if

possible with becoming decency to further his son’s intentions. He found her in

the most elegant morning toilet, in the company of an elderly lady, who at once

captivated  him  by  her  highly  refined  and  amiable  presence.  The  grace  of  the

younger,  the  dignity  of  the  elder  one,  placed  the  two  in  a  most  admirably

balanced relation; their mutual behavior also, throughout, seemed to suggest that

they belonged to one another.

The younger lady seemed to have just finished a diligently-worked letter-case,

already  familiar  to  us,  from  yesterday;  for,  after  the  ordinary  greetings  and

reassuring words of welcome, she turned to her friend, and handed her the work

of art, as if again taking up an interrupted conversation. “So you see that I have

finished it after all, though with so much delay and putting off, it scarcely looked

likely that I would.”

“You  come  just  in  time,  Herr  Major,”  said  the  elder  lady,  “to  decide  our

dispute,  or  at  least  to  declare  yourself  for  one  side  or  the  other.  I  maintain  that

one never undertakes such a long-drawn work without thinking of some person

for whom it is destined; one does not finish it without some such thought. Look

yourself  at  this  work  of  art,  for  so  I  can  fairly  call  it;  can  anything  of  the  kind

ever be undertaken without an object?”

Our  major  had  indeed  to  bestow  all  his  approbation  on  the  work.  Partly

worked, and partly embroidered, it aroused not only admiration, but also a desire

to  know  how  it  was  made.  Colored  silks  predominated,  but  gold  too  was  not

dispensed with; one did not know whether splendor or taste was the more to be

admired.

“And  yet  there  is  still  something  to  be  done  to  it,”  replied  the  beauty,  again

untying  the  knot  of  the  string  that  fastened  it  around,  and  busying  herself  with

the  interior.  “I  will  not  wrangle,”  she  continued,  “but  I  will  tell  you  how  I  am

disposed  towards  work  of  this  kind.  As  young  girls,  we  grow  accustomed  to

plying  our  fingers,  and  to  wandering  with  our  thoughts;  both  habits  remain,

whilst we learn by degrees to accomplish the most difficult and elegant kinds of

work; and I do not deny that with every piece of work of this kind I have always

associated the thoughts of persons and circumstances, and joy and sorrow. And

thus  what  I  had  undertaken  became  valuable  to  me,  and  what  I  had  finished,  I

may well say, became precious to me. As such, then, I was able to regard even

the  most  trifling  thing  as  something,  the  lightest  work  gained  a  value,  and  the

---

most difficult, too, only on this account — that the recollections in this case were

richer and more complete. I therefore always thought of being able to offer such

kinds  of  work  to  friends  and  to  those  I  loved  —  to  worthy  and  distinguished

persons;  they,  too,  recognized  the  fact,  and  knew  that  I  was  offering  them

something of my very own, which, whilst constituting in many and indescribable

ways,  yet  at  all  events,  somehow  or  other,  an  acceptable  gift,  was  always

accepted graciously as a friendly compliment.”

THE LIEUTENANT DECLARES TO THE FAIR WIDOW.

To  such  an  amiable  confession  a  reply  was  indeed  scarcely  possible;  yet  her

lady  friend  had  the  fact  to  add  a  few  civil  words  in  return.  But  the  major,

accustomed from of old to appreciate the graceful wisdom of the Roman writers

and poets, and to imprint on his memory their luminous expressions, recollected

a  few  apposite  verses,  but,  lest  he  should  appear  as  a  pedant,  took  care  not  to

utter them, or even to mention them. However, in order not to seem stupid and

devoid of wit, he attempted an impromptu paraphrase in prose, which, however,

did not quite succeed, so that the conversation nearly came to a standstill.

The elder lady therefore seized a book that had been laid down on our friend’s

entrance; it was a selection of poetry, which just before had been occupying the

attention of the friends. This afforded an opportunity of speaking about poetry in

general, and yet the conversation did not remain long on the general subject, for

soon  the  ladies  candidly  confessed  that  they  had  been  informed  of  the  major’s

poetical talent. The son, who did not hide his own claims to the honorary title of

poet, had told them beforehand about his father’s poetry, and even recited some

of it; in reality in order to flatter himself with a poetical descent, and, as is the

case  with  youth,  to  be  able  to  announce  himself,  in  a  modest  way,  as  a

progressive  son  who  carried  to  a  higher  pitch  his  father’s  capabilities.  But  the

major, who sought to withdraw, since he only wished to pass for a man of letters

and  an  amateur,  tried,  when  no  escape  remained,  at  least  to  back  out,

maintaining  that  the  kind  of  poetry  which  he  certainly  had  practised  was

regarded  as  only  a  subordinate  and  an  almost  spurious  sort;  he  could  not  deny

having  made  a  few  attempts  in  the  kind  which  is  called  descriptive,  and,  in  a

certain sense, didactic.

The ladies, especially the younger, were fond of this kind of poetry; she said,

“When  one  wants  to  live  rationally  and  quietly,  which,  in  fine,  is  the  wish  and

intention  of  every  human  being,  what  is  the  good  of  the  sensational  kind,  that

wantonly allures us without giving us anything, that unsettles us, and yet in the

end abandons us to ourselves again? Yet since I cannot willingly dispense with

poetry of one sort or another, infinitely more pleasant to me is that kind which

transports  me  into  cheerful  regions,  where  I  seem  to  recognize  myself  again;

---

which brings home to my mind the sterling worth of the simply rural, carries me

through leafy shades into the forest, unexpectedly commanding from a height the

view  of  an  inland  lake,  opposite  to  which  perhaps  cultivated  hills,  and  then

wood-crowned heights arise, whilst the blue mountains in the background form a

soothing  picture.  If  this  is  offered  me  in  plain  rhythm  and  rhyme,  then  on  my

sofa I am thankful to the poet for having evolved in my fancy a picture, in which

I can enjoy more at my ease than if I saw it before my eyes after fatiguing travel,

and perhaps under other unfavorable circumstances.”

The major, who in point of fact looked on the present conversation only as a

means of furthering his ends, tried to turn again to the lyrical style of poetry, in

which his son had really achieved something praiseworthy. They did not gainsay

him directly, but they tried jokingly to get him out of the path on which he had

entered,  particularly  as  he  seemed  to  allude  to  passionate  pieces,  in  which  the

son,  not  without  force  and  ability,  had  tried  to  bring  before  the  incomparable

lady the decided inclination of his heart.

“Lovers’  lays,”  said  the  lady,  “I  care  neither  to  have  said  nor  sung  to  me;

happy lovers one envies before one is aware of it, and unhappy ones we always

find tedious.”

Hereupon  the  elder  lady,  turning  to  her  charming  friend,  struck  in  and  said,

“Why are we proceeding so indirectly and losing time in ceremonies towards a

man  whom  we  love  and  honor?  Ought  we  not  to  confide  to  him  that  we  have

already  the  pleasure  of  knowing  in  part  his  charming  poem,  in  which  he

describes  the  sturdy  passion  of  the  chase  in  all  its  details;  and  ought  we  not  to

beg  him  now  to  withhold  longer  from  us  the  whole  of  it?  Your  son,”  she

continued, “has repeated to us with vivacity a few passages from memory, and

made us curious to see it as a connected whole.”

But when the father was a second time about to revert to and extol the talents

of  his  son,  the  ladies  would  not  allow  this  to  pass,  denouncing  it  as  an  evident

evasion for the purpose of declining indirectly to fulfil their wishes. He was not

allowed to get off until he had unconditionally promised to send the poem; but

after  that  the  conversation  took  a  turn,  which  prevented  him  from  saying

anything  more  in  favor  of  his  son,  especially  as  the  latter  had  dissuaded  him

from all importunity.

As it now seemed to be the time to take leave, and the friend too had already

made some movement to that end, the beauty said, with a sort of embarrassment,

which  only  made  her  still  more  beautiful,  at  the  same  time  carefully  arranging

the knot of the letter-case, which had been newly tied: “Poets and amateurs have

unfortunately  been  long  in  such  sort  of  repute,  that  one  ought  not  to  rely  too

much upon their promises and agreements; pardon me, therefore, if I venture to

---

call in doubt the word of an honorable man, and on that account purpose, not to

ask,  but  to  give  a  pledge,  a  token  of  faith.  Take  this  letter-case;  it  has  some

resemblance to your hunting-poem: many recollections are attached to it, a long

time  has  been  spent  in  the  work,  at  last  it  is  finished;  avail  yourself  of  it  as  a

messenger, in which to bring us your pleasing work.”

The major really felt struck at such an unexpected offer; the elegant splendor

of this gift had so little relation to what habitually surrounded him, to everything

else  that  he  made  use  of,  that  although  offered  to  him,  he  scarcely  ventured  to

accept it; still, he collected himself, and as some treasure of traditional lore was

never  lacking  to  his  memory,  a  classical  passage  immediately  occurred  to  his

mind. However, it would have been pedantic to quote it, and yet it suggested in

him a bright thought, so that then and there he was able in a neat paraphrase to

tender  a  friendly  acknowledgment,  and  an  elegant  compliment  in  return.  And

thus the scene was closed in a satisfactory manner to all the interlocutors.

So,  finally,  he  found  himself,  not  without  embarrassment,  entangled  in  a

pleasant connection: he had promised, had pledged himself to send, to write; and

if the occasion in some measure seemed unsatisfactory, still he had to esteem as

a piece of good fortune the fact that he was to remain in pleasant relations with

the lady who, with all her great attractions, was to be so nearly allied to him. So

he took his departure, not without a certain inward satisfaction; for how should

the  poet  not  feel  such  an  encouragement  as  this,  when  his  faithful  and  diligent

work,  that  had  so  long  lain  unheeded,  was  now  quite  unexpectedly  receiving

amiable recognition?

Immediately  after  his  return  to  his  quarters,  the  major  sat  down  to  write,  to

inform his good sister of everything, and then nothing was more natural than that

his  whole  style  should  betray  a  certain  exultation,  such  as  he  himself  felt,  and

which, by the remarks of his son interrupting him from time to time, was raised

to a still higher degree.

Upon  the  baroness  this  letter  made  a  very  mingled  impression;  for  although

the  circumstance  —  through  which  the  union  of  her  brother  with  Hilaria  was

likely  to  be  facilitated  and  hastened  —  was  in  itself  calculated  to  satisfy  her

completely,  still  the  beautiful  widow  somehow  failed  to  please  her,  though  she

would  not  have  thought  of  taking  herself  to  task  on  that  account.  We  will  take

this opportunity of making the following observation:

An  enthusiasm  for  any  one  woman,  ought  never  to  be  confided  to  another;

they  know  each  other  too  well  to  believe  themselves  worthy  of  any  such

exclusive  homage.  Men  appear  to  them  as  customers  in  a  shop,  where  the

tradesman, who knows his wares, has the best of it, and can also avail himself of

the opportunity of displaying them in the best lights; whilst, on the other hand,

---

the buyer always enters with a kind of innocence; he stands in need of the article,

desires to have it, and but very rarely understands how to look at it with the eyes

of  an  expert.  The  one  knows  very  well  what  he  is  giving,  the  other  does  not

always  know  what  he  is  receiving.  Yet  once  for  all  this  cannot  be  changed  in

human  life  and  converse  —  nay,  it  is  even  as  legitimate  as  necessary;  for  all

coveting and wooing, all buying and bartering, depends upon it.

In consequence of this sentiment, rather than reflection, the baroness could not

be  entirely  satisfied  either  with  the  passion  of  the  son  or  with  the  favorable

description  of  the  father;  she  found  herself  surprised  by  the  fortunate  turn  of

affairs,  and  yet  she  could  not  banish  a  foreboding,  on  account  of  the  double

disparity of age. Hilaria seems to her too young for her brother, the widow not

young enough for the son; in the meanwhile the affair has taken a course which

is  not  likely  to  be  checked.  A  pious  wish  that  all  might  end  well  arose  with  a

subdued sigh. To relieve her heart, she seized a pen, and wrote to that friend of

hers  so  well  acquainted  with  mankind,  and  after  a  prefatory  narrative,  she  thus

continued:

“The  method  of  this  seductive  widow  is  not  unknown  to  me:  she  seems  to

decline  all  female  company,  and  only  to  endure  near  her  a  woman  who  in  no

way  prejudices  her,  who  flatters  her,  and  if  her  silent  advantages  are  not

sufficiently  obvious,  manages  by  words  and  an  adroit  treatment  to  recommend

her  to  observation.  Spectators,  if  sympathizers  in  such  a  performance,  must  be

men; hence arises the necessity of enticing them and retaining them. I think no

evil  of  the  beautiful  woman;  she  seems  proper  and  discreet  enough,  but  such  a

hankering  vanity  must  doubtless  sacrifice  something  to  circumstances,  and  —

what I regard as the worst — it is not all so considered and designed: a certain

happy natural disposition guides and protects her, and nothing is more dangerous

in a born coquette like her than an abandon resulting from innocence.”

The  major,  now  at  length  arrived  at  his  country  house,  devoted  the  day  and

hour  to  inspection  and  examination.  He  found  himself  in  a  situation  to  observe

that a straightforward and well-grasped leading idea is in its execution subjected

to  manifold  hindrances,  and  to  the  traversing  of  so  many  chances,  to  such  a

degree that the first idea almost vanishes, and for the moment seems to be utterly

and  completely  lost,  until  in  the  midst  of  all  the  confusion  the  mind  again

perceives  the  possibility  of  success,  when  we  see  Time,  the  best  ally  of

invincible endurance, offering us a hand.

And so too, here, there would have been the melancholy spectacle of fair and

wide  yet  neglected  possessions  brought  into  a  hopeless  condition  through  the

clever  remarks  of  keen-witted  economists,  had  it  not  at  the  same  time  been

foreseen  that  a  term  of  years,  used  with  common-sense  and  honesty,  are

---

sufficient  to  reanimate  what  is  dead,  to  bring  into  circulation  what  is  stagnant,

and so, by method and industry, to attain at last one’s end.

The  good-natured  Obermarschall  had  arrived,  and  with  him,  in  fact,  a  grave

lawyer; yet the latter caused the major less anxiety than the former, who was one

of  those  people  who  have  no  fixed  object,  or,  if  they  see  one  before  them,

decline  the  means  of  attaining  it.  Daily  and  hourly  pleasure  was  the

indispensable  requirement  of  his  life.  After  long  hesitation,  he  had  at  last

resolved in earnest to rid himself of his creditors, to shake off the burdens on his

property,  to  put  order  into  the  confusion  of  his  household,  to  enjoy  without

further  anxieties  a  respectable  and  certain  income;  yet,  for  all  that,  not  to

discontinue even the smallest item of his previous habits.

On the whole he agreed to everything as to what his brother and sister were to

pay for the undisturbed possession of the estate, and especially of the principal

property;  yet  he  would  not  completely  forego  his  claims  to  a  certain  adjacent

villa, to which every year on his birthday he invited his oldest friends and most

recent  acquaintances,  nor  to  the  ornamental  gardens  attached  thereto  that

connected  it  with  the  principal  building.  The  furniture  was  all  to  remain  in  the

villa, the engravings on the walls; and, moreover, the fruit upon the espaliers was

reserved to him. Peaches and strawberries of the most exquisite kind, pears and

apples  large  and  well-flavored,  but  particularly  a  certain  kind  of  small  gray

apples, which  he  had  been  accustomed  for many  years  to  offer  to  the  princess-

dowager,  were  faithfully  to  be  handed  over  to  him.  To  this  were  added  other

conditions  less  important,  but  to  the  owner,  the  tenants,  the  overseers,  and  the

gardeners, uncommonly burdensome.

For the rest the Obermarschall was in the best humor; for he did not relinquish

the thought that all would ultimately be arranged according to his wishes, and as

his  sanguine  temperament  had  anticipated;  he  therefore  only  troubled  himself

about  a  good  dinner,  and  in  an  easy  ride  of  a  few  hours  obtained  the  requisite

exercise,  related  story  after  story,  and  showed  throughout  a  most  cheerful

countenance. In the same manner, too, he took his departure, thanked the major

most handsomely for having treated him in such a brotherly manner, borrowed a

little money, had the store of small gray apples, which this year had succeeded

particularly well, carefully packed up, and with this treasure, which he intended

to  offer  as  a  welcome  compliment  to  the  princess,  he  drove  away  to  the

dowager’s  residence,  where  in  due  course  he  was  received  in  a  gracious  and

friendly manner.

The  major,  for  his  part,  remained  behind  with  totally  opposite  feelings,  and

would have been almost driven to despair at the restrictions that he found before

him, if he had not been aided by that feeling which cheers and revives an active

---

man when he  has the  hope of  unravelling what  is confused,  and enjoying  what

has been unravelled.

Fortunately the lawyer happened to be an honest man, who, as he had a good

deal else to do, soon settled the question. It was equally fortunate that a valet of

the  Obermarschall’s  threw  himself  into  it,  and,  on  reasonable  conditions,

promised to co-operate in the affair, whereby a successful result might be hoped

for. Satisfactory as this was, however, still the major, as a man of rectitude, felt,

in the shifting pros and cons of this business, that satisfaction was only to be got

through  much  that  was  unsatisfactory.  But  just  as  to  women,  the  moment  at

which  their  hitherto  uncontested  beauty  will  become  doubtful  is  in  the  highest

degree  painful,  so  also  to  men  of  a  certain  age,  though  still  in  the  fulness  of

vigor, the faintest sense of insufficient power is extremely disagreeable, nay, in

some degree painful.

Another circumstance, however, that occurred, which ought to have disturbed

him,  put  him  into  the  best  humor.  His  cosmetical  valet,  who  had  not  left  him

even  during  this  country  excursion,  for  some  time  back  seemed  to  have  struck

into  a  fresh  path,  to  which  the  major’s  early  rising,  his  daily  rides  and

excursions,  as  also  the  admittance  of  many  busy  people  —  or  even,  during  the

Obermarschall’s  presence,  of  many  idle  ones  —  seemed  to  compel  him.  For

some  time  past  he  had  excused  the  major  all  the  small  trifles,  that  only  had  a

claim  to  engage  the  attention  of  an  actor,  but  so  much  the  more  strictly  did  he

hold fast to certain principal points, which hitherto had been obscured by a less

important  hocuspocus.  He  re-enforced  everything  which  not  only  aimed  at  the

appearance of health, but also was seriously supposed to maintain health itself,

but  particularly  moderation  in  everything,  and  variety  according  to

circumstances; attention likewise to the skin and hair, to eyebrows and teeth, to

hands  and  nails,  the  most  elegant  form  and  neatest  length  of  which  this  expert

had  long  made  his  care.  At  the  same  time  he  stringently  prescribed,  over  and

over again, moderation in everything that is wont to throw a man off his balance;

after which this professor of the art of beautification asked leave to go, because

he  could  be  of  no  further  use  to  his  master.  At  the  same  time  one  can  imagine

that he may well have wished himself back with his former patron, in order to be

able to devote himself once more to the varied pleasures of a theatrical life.

And  it  really  did  the  major  a  great  deal  of  good  to  be  again  his  own  master.

The sensible man needs only to keep himself under control, and he is happy. He

could  again  freely  indulge  in  his  old  exercise  of  riding,  hunting,  and  of  all

pertaining  thereto.  The  image  of  Hilaria  in  such  solitary  moments  again  came

pleasantly forward, and he adapted himself to the condition of an engaged man

—  perhaps  the  most  charming  one  that  is  allotted  to  us  within  the  sphere  of

---

civilized life.

During  a  pause  in  the  business  that  left  him  some  liberty,  he  hurried  to  his

estate,  where,  recollecting  the  promise  given  to  the  beautiful  widow,  which  he

had never forgotten, he rummaged among his poems, that were lying put away in

excellent  order;  at  the  same  time  he  put  his  hand  on  many  note  and

memorandum-books,  containing  extracts  from  ancient  and  modern  authors

which he had read. Owing to his partiality for Horace and the Roman poets, most

of them belonged to these, and it struck him that the passages chiefly expressed

regrets for past time, and for a vanished state of things and feelings. Instead of

many, we shall insert only the following passage:

Heu! . . . .

Quæ mens est hodie, cur eadem non puero fuit?

Vel cur his animis incolumes non redeunt genæ?